Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. Southern Africa
  • News

Forum to highlight AIDS stigma

    JOHANNESBURG
    The Regional AIDS Initiative of Southern Africa (RAISA), a programme of the UK-based Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), will bring together activists and experts from six southern African countries to discuss AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. Delegates to the conference in the South African capital, Pretoria, will examine the theme, 'You don't belong here - Fear, Blame and Shame around HIV and AIDS', and the rejection of HIV-positive people as a barrier to effective anti-AIDS responses from 25 to 27 October. Bongai Mundeta, the VSO-RAISA regional director, said in a statement, "Fear of discrimination prevents people from getting tested for HIV, seeking treatment and accepting and disclosing their HIV status. Fighting stigma and discrimination is as important as developing medical cures for HIV/AIDS."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join